Chapter 16

Thunderous base vibrated through my bones as I ambled through the doorway. Ribbons of seductive beats wrapped around my limbs, urging me to succumb to the music, beckoning me to join the bodies entwined in a dance orgy in the center of the dance floor. The electric notes pulsed in synchronization to my heart, and familiar notes weaved themselves through my muscles.

I'd heard this set before in our apartment when CJ was composing it. It was her song, except now, it had been infused with something darker, richer.

I walked around the perimeter of the dance floor, trying not to get lost in the sights and sounds pulsing around me. Violet strobe lights bathed the entire room in flashes of forbidden images, and I wasn't even sure if what I was seeing was real or not.

Misty fog produced by hissing machines did little to hide the bodies writhing in the shadowed corners.

Large velvety couches lined the walls, each one hosting erotic scenes of unrestricted pleasure. Heat filled my chest, spreading to all my extremities as I gazed on acts I'd never even seen in adult videos before.

A part of me wanted to look away, embarrassed at my perversion, but another part of me couldn't ignore the heat pooling in other more intimate places.

I walked by another couch scene, my gaze locked with one of the women laying on her back, her naked body rocking back and forth as a man laid on top of her.

I was about to look away when I noticed she wasn't really looking back at me. She was staring blankly, her eyes dead. Her arm hung loosely off the couch as the naked man lying on top of her pushed into her, hard and unrelenting, his face buried in her neck. Then he yanked his head up, catching me in his red-eyed gaze. Blood dripped from his mouth as he smiled, fangs extended from his gums.

My body froze, my breath gone from my lungs. I wanted to scream, but it got stuck in my throat. What the hell was this place? How was any of this possible? I knew New York City had a dark underground, but this went beyond anything my mind could ever conjure.

This wasn't a nightclub; it was a slaughterhouse… and humans were the meat.

Shutting my eyes, I tried to reel in my emotions, to shake the fear that threatened to pop the lid off the cauldron of power sitting in my belly.

I needed to find CJ and get us out of there.

Taking a step away from the grotesque scene before me, I was swallowed up by the dancing horde. Bodies swayed, hands roaming my body.

Clutching my messenger bag against me, I pushed through the tight crowd, careful not to make eye contact with anyone. I stood on my tippy toes, looking over the sea of gyrating bodies, scanning for the DJ booth. Finally spotting the raised platform on the other side of the dance floor, I squeezed through, slowly carving a path out of the inner circle of hell.

When I reached the edge of the dance floor and shot my gaze up to the DJ booth, a surge of panic raced through my veins. CJ's music blasted through the speakers, but the DJ booth was empty. Shit. Where the heck was my best friend? How was I supposed to find her in this swarming pit of vampires?

Spinning in place, I searched the couches lining the walls, hoping I wouldn't find her entwined in an orgy of blood and sex, my heart racing at the possibility I might be too late. Continuing to look for her familiar face and that unmistakable spiky, purple hair, my shoulders loosened when I finally caught sight of her in the middle of the dance floor, arms tightly roped around Ricky's neck, body rolling into his tall, lanky form.

I hurried to her, not caring who I pushed out of the way. We needed to get out of this place before either one of us got added to the menu.

"CJ!" I called for her, but the bass muffled my voice. After pushing through another set of people, I called to her again, and this time Ricky turned to face me, his pale blond hair falling over his dark eyes as they narrowed in disgust as soon as he saw me. Before I could reach them, he took one of her hands and tried to lead her away, but I rushed forward and grabbed her other arm.

"CJ, stop!" I held on to her wrist while Ricky pulled her in the opposite direction. "Let her go, Ricky," I shouted over the loud music.

This time CJ turned toward me. I braced myself, ready for her dragon fire. I'd hurt her and deserved every ounce of anger she wanted to unleash on me. But what I hadn't been ready for was the blank stare in her brown eyes.

The languid body. The pale face. CJ wasn't looking at me, she looked through me, as if she didn't recognize who I was. Taking her cheeks in my hands, I tried to get her to focus. "CJ, hon. It's me, Avery."

Nothing. My best friend's face was utterly expressionless, her eyes a glassy lake. She looked like a ghost lost in purgatory.

I stared up at Ricky as he refused to let go of her hand. "You drugged her?"

"I did nothing she didn't want to do."

"You son of a bitch," I growled, pulling CJ closer to me and chopping at his other hand. "Let her go."

He smirked. "Or what, freak?"

Arrowing my gaze into his, I said, "Or I'll fucking gut you."

The asshole laughed, and that's when I realized my mistake. I'd stepped right into his plan. He stuck out his other hand, grabbed my face, and pushed me back so hard, I fell flat on my ass right in the middle of the dancing horde.

Scrambling to my feet, my gaze darted in every direction, searching for where he'd taken CJ. I called after her, but it was no use, the music was too loud. An icy claw trailed over my skin. What had he done to my friend? Where had he taken her?

I brought a trembling hand to my chest. Terror threatened to pummel through me, and the thought of losing control in the middle of a vampire frenzy only added to my shaken nerves.

Shadow's words echoed in my brain. Losing control now would be like handing myself over to them on a golden platter. I gulped air, focusing on the beats of my heart, though it was hard to distinguish between my actual heartbeats and the bass reverberating through my body.

Continuing to scan the crowd, I untangled myself from the mess of bodies pushing up against me. In between flashes of violet strobe lights and images of vampires feeding on and fucking humans, I caught a quick blur of purplish hair.

Ricky was dragging CJ behind the DJ booth and through a backdoor.

A wall of despair came tumbling down on me. "CJ!" I vainly called out to her again. But just as she was about to disappear through that exit, she seemed to have heard me, or maybe it was simple instinct that caused her to look back, but her eyes widened when she saw me, as if she'd finally awoken from some dream.

But it was too late. The door closed as she opened her lips to scream. I took off after her but was knocked back when my forehead hit a wall.

"Ouch," I grumbled as I rubbed at my head. "What the hell?"

Shaking off the dizziness, I stumbled as my eyesight refocused, almost falling on my ass again from the shock of what I saw.

There had been no wall.

The world slowed the moment my eyes landed on the man standing in front of me, all movement around us ticking by at half speed. Lights dimmed lower and the music spun in muffled thumps.

Fear. Panic. Shock. The web of emotions spider-webbing through me only moments ago stopped weaving.

I forgot my reason for being there.

Was it possible I wasn't dreaming?

Regardless of how dark the club was, there was no mistaking the gleam of those sapphire-colored eyes or the silkiness of that raven hair. Towering above me and standing a mere breath away, the man cocked his head curiously, his arrow-tipped gaze leaving pinpricks on my skin.

I scanned the rest of him, thunderstruck at the realism. Dressed in a tailored black suit that displayed every angle of his chiseled body, he stood with hands in his pockets, feet a shoulder's width apart.

His lips curved, eyes roaming my face as if examining some oddity.

I almost laughed at the absurd reality of this vision. But was he a vision? I had to know. Needed to know.

I went to raise my hand to his chest, but he raised his to my hair, halting my breath as his fingers twirled around one of my curls.

"What a peculiar twist of events," he uttered, his voice a deep, saccharine rumble that burrowed into my essence. Stars, it was as I remembered…

A voice that beckoned darkened thoughts.

One that stirred desire and longing.

I wanted to speak, to touch the fingers entwined in my hair, but words failed me. I couldn't move my lips, couldn't move a single muscle.

"Luther failed to mention you, little witch." His sensuous lips curled wider, a glint of white peeking through. I remembered those teeth as well, and as much as my brain shouted at me that I should be afraid, I only inched closer, my legs no longer rooted to the floor.

I placed a palm to his chest, and a current of heat swept through me as I felt the hardness of his body and the satiny texture of his suit jacket under my fingertips.

Dear heavens, he was real. "It's you," I whispered, tearing my gaze away from his chest and peering up at him, losing myself in the calm chaos of his eyes. In that instant, I was transported through time in a spinning tunnel of images.

Skin against skin, bodies entwined in fevered moans.

Mine? His? Ours?

I wasn't sure, but the sweetened warmth stoking in my center summoned a hungered cry from my chest, one of deep longing. How could this be? I'd never met him outside of my dreams, yet right this second, I felt connected to him on a visceral level.

Raw, animalistic instinct battled to control me.

Frightened by the potency of my unbidden desire, I forced myself to blink, to dissolve this carnal vision into a million fractured pieces until the woman wrapped in his arms no longer felt like me.

Iwas Avery. And I was back in the club.

Inhaling deeply, I tried to douse the coals still burning in my core. Easier said than done. The growl vibrating through his chest reached every nerve ending.

Breaths shallow, he seemed to awaken from the same stupor I'd been in.

"Azrael," I uttered, as if his name belonged to me, each letter tasting like warm honey on my tongue.

His expression hardened at the mention of his name, eyes darkening. There was confusion swirling in their depths mixed with the black ink of an angry storm. He yanked my hand off his chest, grabbing my wrist with iron strength. He leaned down, lips feathering across my cheek as he reached my ear.

Every fiber in my body shivered at his touch, heart drumming against my ribcage.

"I know your kind, witch," he whispered harshly, his warm breath brushing against my skin. "Best save your tricks for someone else, or you might find I have no allegiance to your frivolous pact. I have an acquired taste for witch blood, and your impudence has made me thirsty."

His words stunned me into silence.

I trembled, unsure what to make of him as he pulled back. My skin burned from where his fingers still wrapped themselves tightly around my wrist. He was about to say more when something snagged his attention.

His nostrils flared and his gaze shot to the back of the room, cheekbones sharpening and jaw muscles twitching. I turned to look at what had rattled him, but a whoosh of air flipped my hair, and before I took my next breath, the hold around my wrist was gone.

And so was he.

Everyone around me came back to life in a rush of sights and sounds. Everything was suddenly too bright, too loud. I spun in place, disoriented, unable to make sense of my surroundings. But then, like a jigsaw puzzle, the pieces finally came together.

Requiem. CJ.

Shit, I needed to find CJ.

Gathering my senses, I settled my heart. Azrael was here. And he was as real as my own flesh and blood. But whatever the devil's horns had just happened between us would need to wait.

I ran toward the backdoor where I'd seen Ricky drag CJ, but another current of fear rippled through my body the instant I laid eyes on the man standing right across from me on the other side of the dance floor.

You've got to be kidding me.

Had all my monsters received an invitation to Requiem tonight?

Dressed from head to toe in black combat gear, he looked like death on a mission. I knew instantly who he was. I'd recognize that warrior a mile away, whether he was dressed like a fifteenth century knight or a special ops Navy SEAL.

Taller than any man in this room, his broad shoulders and impending stance would make anyone cower in his presence. But it was the golden, messy mane, the sharp edges of his chiseled jaw, and the arresting intensity of his gaze that knocked the air from my lungs.

"Kane." The word left my tongue in a whisper before I had a chance to think. He heard it twice as fast. Head swiveling in my direction as if tracing an invisible path straight to where I stood, his eyes locked on me, and a string tightened in my gut. Then his nostrils flared just like Azrael's had—as if catching my scent—and the feral expression that overtook his face blew through me like a polar wind, broadcasting one primal truth.

He was on the hunt, and I was the prey. Fuck. Plain instinct awoke inside me.

He tapped on a device strapped to his neck, then moved his lips as if speaking to someone.

Shadow had warned me, and I'd been the idiot who'd refused to listen.

I'd never been afraid of Kane—not in my dreams, at least—but I couldn't help the cold sweat dripping down my back or the shudders vibrating between my shoulder blades.

It was a split-second decision, one born out of sheer instinct to survive—run.

I pushed back into the crowd, crashing into drugged humans and half-naked vampires. I couldn't see him, but I felt his presence at my back. As I spilled out from the dance floor, the stuffiness of the crowd thinned, giving me a small break as I sucked in oxygen. But the reprieve was short-lived.

Before I knew what happened, my back was pinned against a wall, Kane's impossibly strong hand was wrapped around my throat, his entire body practically swallowing me whole as he caged me. His breath was inches from my face, those intense blood-red eyes glaring at me.

Being under Azrael's gaze had felt like being caressed by shadows, and touching him like a luscious sin punishable by death.

But Kane… Heavens, being under his gaze felt like I'd been shoved inside a tornado, and I was now inside the eye, looking at the monster as it raged all around me. The sheer force of the power radiating from him could break me in ways I couldn't even fathom. I tried peeling his fingers from my neck, but they felt like iron bars. What surprised me was the fact he wasn't squeezing, though. Hurting me wasn't his end goal. I was, in fact, inside the calm fury of the storm.

He bared his deadly teeth. "Not so fast, little monster. Where do you think you're going?"

Through my peripheral vision, I caught sight of more men dressed like dark commandos, slowly approaching from opposite ends of the club. They were planning to box me in. "Get off me," I croaked, simmering anger stoking the icy flames of the cauldron inside my belly.

A growl rumbled in his chest, the sensation vibrating off him like a raging river. "How did you know my name, witch? Who the saints-fuck are you?" His gruff and demanding voice made my insides quiver. Stars. This man felt like a Mack truck about to plow through me.

I eyed his hand. "Let go and I might tell you."

"Nice try," he hissed, and I swore his canines glinted under his lips.

But while he'd been busy trying to intimidate me with his growls and fangs, I'd reached into my bag and retrieved Ere-whatever-the-fuck-sword and had it aimed right between his legs, the point grazing what I knew any male—human or vampire—valued more than life.

I swallowed thickly. "If you don't get your filthy paws off me, you can kiss your cock goodbye."

His gaze flicked to mine, the blood-red tinge fading until all I saw was the navy blue of his glittering eyes. Those eyes…the same deep set, long-lashed ones I'd seen countless times in my dreams. A slow breath escaped my lips. My God, he was brutally gorgeous even in person—more so. It was a fact I couldn't ignore even though his broad fingers were wrapped around my throat.

Eyebrows dipping, he looked at me with awe, his lips twitching in some sort of annoyed grin. The muscles in his jaw flexed, but when he still hadn't removed his hand, I pressed the dagger harder against his junk, until he flinched and finally let go.

Not so big and scary anymore, are you?

He took a step back, but he was still close, too close. I hated having to threaten him, this man, this deadly vampire who I'd wished so many times I could touch or talk to in my dreams. Who I'd wanted so badly to be real and not just a figment of my imagination and whose true reality now pricked my soul.

Shadow's words haunted me. These vampires had violated my home—Kane had violated my home. And he'd come for me, proving Shadow right. Vampires and witches were enemies. Kane was my enemy, and a little part of my heart splintered at the thought.

I raised the sword to his chest. He put his palms up, though I knew if he really wanted to subdue me, I'd stand no chance against this mountain of a man. "I don't want any trouble. I just need to find my friend," I said.

Suddenly, excited yelps erupted from the dance floor as some crazy song piped through the speakers, sending a stampeded of people slamming into us. I took the opportunity to duck out of his way and beelined it for the hallway directly across from me, hoping somehow it led to a backdoor. Heart lodged in my throat, I ran as fast as I could, knowing full well that if those vampires really wanted me, I would have no place to escape.

I barged through a door, realizing a moment later that I'd trapped myself inside the women's bathroom.

Half-dazed girls who looked much younger than me swayed in front of the mirror as they attempted to apply make-up, their hands completely uncoordinated. One girl had blood staining the front of her white shirt all the way down to the hem, while another had blood smeared across her face. Another girl sat slumped on the floor, net stockings ripped, back against the tiled wall, a small, empty glass tube resting in her opened hand.

Sadness sliced across my heart. The lost look in their eyes, the loneliness and desperation choking the life out of them, it all reminded me of the look in CJ's eyes. But it also reminded me of my time walking the streets as a runaway—of all the times I met girls just like these, girls like me. The leftovers. The ones no one cared about anymore. The ones men like the ones running this club took advantage of because no one would bat an eye if they went missing.

My hands clamped into tight fists. It wasn't right, none of this was. These girls didn't deserve this. Human or vampire, the men who used young girls like they were expendable were all monsters. And now CJ was being used, too. As if her life didn't matter. As if no one would care if she went missing.

Well, I fucking cared.

And I was done running from my nightmares. I had no way of knowing if Kane or Azrael were a part of this disgusting place, but I'd take them down just the same. If they were hunting me, then they would now know I wasn't easy prey.

I spun toward the door, knowing they would soon barge in. The air crackled around me, my palm burning as the symbol branded on my hand flared to life. The fire stoked deep in my belly, flames reaching out like the branches of a tree, spreading to every limb, to every crevice in my body.

My breath hitched, a spindle of fear threading through me. The icy fire was now all consuming, and I had no way of knowing how to squelch it, even if I wanted to.

Fuck my fear. I was done feeling scared. The mirrors on the walls shook. Garbage cans knocked over. Toilet paper swirled in the air. The girls in the room screamed, their eyes bloodshot with terror. I didn't know what they saw, but as I turned my head toward one of the shattered mirrors, I witnessed the horror of what I was, my image splintered into hundreds of cracked shards.

Eyes flaming white, I hovered a foot above the ground, my hair floating above my shoulders, electric sparks crackling over my head and over my fingertips. Images of what I was capable of flashed in my mind. I could take this whole building down. Destroy the vile creatures feasting on young girls, as if they were nothing but disposable flesh.

‘Avery…' a familiar voice whispered in my head.

I blinked. "Shadow?"

‘You don't want to do this.'

"Get out of my head. You haven't seen what I've seen."

‘Avery, you won't be killing only them. If you crumble that building, you'll also be killing all the humans inside. Calm your rage. Listen to my voice.'

I clenched my jaw. "They have CJ."

‘You won't be able to help her if you're dead. Now listen, I can help you. But first, you need to get out of there.'

"I can't. Place is littered with vampires. The ones who came looking for me at my apartment… I think they're here, too. I don't have much time. If I don't do something…"

‘Focus. Picture the air around you, every particle floating, suspended. Air is not visible to the naked eye, but you're not like anyone else, Avery. You're the daughter of the All Spirit. You can see. Just open your mind's eye. Feel the energy flowing through you. You can control the source pulsing at the center of your soul.'

Closing my eyes, I looked inward, searching for the white, cold fire raging inside me. I dug deeper and deeper, hunting through darkness until…

"I'm here… I can see it." A white orb of energy pulsing with unimaginable power sat seeded at my core.

‘Now, open your eyes.'

When I did, the world looked different. The air particles glowed like tiny, blue feathered jewels. As if I was swimming in a vat of them, every movement I made caused them to swirl. "I see…" I whispered.

‘Every single particle you see is an extension of you, Avery. All you need to do is will them to do as you would any part of your body.'

"What?"

‘Draw them to you, until every single particle in that room has been sucked from every corner and now hovers over you, on you. This will conceal you from anyone.'

"Camouflage?"

‘Exactly. But you must move quickly. This type of magic draws a ton of energy, so you won't be able to hold it for long. Hurry. Find that exit.'

The loud thumping of boots blasted outside the door. They were here. I'd run out of time.

Not knowing how to command air particles to heel to me, I did the only thing that came to mind. I sucked in the biggest mouthful of air, picturing every particle getting sucked right into my lungs. To my shock, the tiny blue feathers swirled around me like snow during a whiteout.

When the bathroom door flew open, it smashed against the wall, cracking the tile.

A beast of a man stood at the doorjamb. Dressed in the same black combat gear, he held a gun in one hand, aiming it as he made a quick sweep of the bathroom. He sniffed the air, examining the girls in the room. Eyes completely bathed in red, he continued to stare, as if convinced something was awry. My body shook. I'd sucked in so much air and now it was screaming to come out.

Please. Please. I prayed for him to leave. I didn't know how much longer I could hold my breath. He took another step into the bathroom and cocked his head at the girls. "Did either of you see anyone else come in here?'

Shit.

I closed my eyes and tried not to think of the burning in my chest, of the air trapped in my lungs for so long that it threatened to burst through my ribcage, guts and all. I grew dizzy. By now, my feet were back on the ground, and I fell to my knees.

‘Shadow,' I whispered in my head. ‘I … can't… hold it…'

"I said, did any of you see anyone else come in here?" the man gritted again.

Right when I felt the last of my energy evaporate, static sounded in the room. He pressed on an earpiece. "Fuck," he grumbled, and he was out of the room as fast as my lungs caved.

Gasping for air, I laid on the bathroom floor, every limb feeling like lead, my head throbbing so hard I thought my skull would crack. I listened for Shadow's voice, but nothing came through. I crawled to the door, wondering how in the world I was going to get myself out of there if I couldn't even walk.

There was no way I had the energy to use that nifty air trick again. If I was gonna get out of here, I'd have to do it on hands and knees.

I opened the door and peered out quickly toward the dance floor. The music still blasted, but the dancing had stopped. More importantly, no vampire SEAL team waited to capture me. There was a crowd forming a circle instead. Men shouted at each other, and everyone was too busy watching.

Perfect.

Still on my hands and knees, I stayed close to the wall, avoiding the mayhem taking place on the dance floor.

Gathering strength where I had none, I speed-crawled around the perimeter, partly desperate to get out of there and partly curious to see the commotion, but there was no time for that. Finally, finding the set of double doors I'd entered from, I managed to stand and pull on the handle.

But the curious part of me couldn't let me run free just yet.

I glanced back to the dance floor and my gaze locked with Kane, the vampire warrior turned modern soldier. His eyes narrowed briefly as if letting me know he'd seen me, but then he went back to whatever argument he was having with the club's security team, as if he didn't care I was escaping.

Then I saw why. The big, burly dude who'd come chasing after me into the bathroom was slinking through the crowd in my direction, weapon still in his hand.

Shit. Time to go.

I begged for the energy I needed to climb up the several flights of stairs to the exit. Someone must have heard my imploring prayers because somehow, I made it to the top, although the only memory I had was of the ice-cold wind and frosty snow as I stumbled out the door and onto the pavement.

"Shadow…" I croaked, my throat so dry it hurt to speak. I landed on my back, feeling the pins and needles of numbness spread through every limb. I couldn't move, could barely breathe. Before completely losing consciousness, I felt the light flutter of wings caress my cheeks.